Nasreddin and the Pot
One day Nasreddin borrowed a pot from his neighbour Ali. The next day he brought it back with another little pot inside. “That’s not mine,” said Ali. “Yes, it is,” said Nasreddin. “While your pot was staying with me, it had a baby.”

Some time later Nasreddin asked Ali to lend him a pot again. Ali agreed, hoping that he would once again receive two pots in return. However, days passed and Nasreddin had still not returned the pot. Finally Ali lost patience and went to demand his property. “I am sorry,” said Nasreddin. “I can’t give you back your pot, since it has died.” “Died!” screamed Ali, “how can a pot die?” “Well,” said Nasreddin, “you believed me when I told you that your pot had had a baby.”

Nasreddin Goes Shopping
One day Nasreddin went to town to buy new clothes. First he tried on a pair of trousers. He didn’t like the trousers, so he gave them back to the shopkeeper. Then he tried a robe which had the same price as the trousers. Nasreddin was pleased with the robe, and he left the shop. Before he climbed on his donkey to ride home, the shopkeeper and the shop-assistant ran out.

“You didn’t pay for the robe!” said the shopkeeper.

“But I gave you the trousers in exchange for the robe, didn’t I?” replied Nasreddin.

“Yes, but you didn’t pay for the trousers, either!” said the shopkeeper.

“But I didn’t buy the trousers,” replied Nasreddin. “I am not so stupid as to pay for something which I never bought.”

Nasreddin’s Visitors
One day a visitor came to Nasreddin’s house. “I am your cousin from Konya,” he said, “and I have brought you a duck to celebrate the visit.” Nasreddin was delighted. He asked his wife to cook the duck, and served the visitor a fine dinner.

The next day another visitor arrived. “I am the friend of the man who brought you the duck,” he said. Nasreddin invited him in and gave him a good meal. The next day another visitor arrived, and said he was the friend of the friend of the man who had brought the duck. Again Nasreddin invited him in for a meal. However, he was getting annoyed. Visitors seemed to be using his house as a restaurant.

Then another visitor came, and said he was the friend of the friend of the friend of the man who had brought the duck. Nasreddin invited him to eat dinner with him. His wife brought some soup to the table and the visitor tasted it. “What kind of soup is this?” asked the visitor. “It tastes just like warm water.” “Ah!” said Nasreddin, “That is the soup of the soup of the soup of the duck.”

Nasreddin and the Beggar
One day, Nasreddin was up on the roof of his house, mending a hole in the tiles. He had nearly finished, and he was pleased with his work. Suddenly, he heard a voice below call “Hello!” When he looked down, Nasreddin saw an old man in dirty clothes standing below.

“What do you want?” asked Nasreddin.

“Come down and I’ll tell you,” called the man.

Nasreddin was annoyed, but he was a polite man, so he put down his tools. Carefully, he climbed all the way down to the ground.

“What do you want?” he asked, when he reached the ground.

“Could you spare a little money for an old beggar?” asked the old man. Nasreddin thought for a minute.

Then he said, “Come with me.” He began climbing the ladder again. The old man followed him all the way to the top. When they were both sitting on the roof, Nasreddin turned to the beggar.

“No,” he said.

Nasreddin and the Smell of Soup
One day, a poor man, who had only one piece of bread to eat, was walking past a restaurant. There was a large pot of soup on the table. The poor man held his bread over the soup, so the steam from the soup went into the bread, and gave it a good smell. Then he ate the bread.

The restaurant owner was very angry at this, and he asked the man for money, in exchange for the steam from the soup. The poor man had no money, so the restaurant owner took him to Nasreddin, who was a judge at that time. Nasreddin thought about the case for a little while.

Then he took some money from his pocket. He held the coins next to the restaurant owner’s ear, and shook them, so that they made a jingling noise.

“What was that?” asked the restaurant owner.

“That was payment for you,” answered Nasreddin.

“What do you mean? That was just the sound of coins!” protested the restaurant owner.

“The sound of the coins is payment for the smell of the soup,” answered Nasreddin. “Now go back to your restaurant.”